Following the publication of the Committee on Climate Change’s Progress Report to Parliament, the Aldersgate Group urges the government to rapidly put in place robust policies that will allow the UK to meet its existing carbon budgets on time, affordably and in a way that could deliver significant economic benefits for the UK.

Nick Molho, Executive Director of the Aldersgate Group said: “The government faces several critical decisions during the early months of this Parliament to ensure that the deployment of energy efficiency and a wide range of low carbon infrastructure remains on track and the cost of new technologies continues to be cut. Policy and funding gaps, particularly after 2020, must be filled urgently.

"In the run up to the important climate change summit in Paris later this year, it is vital that the UK’s very positive role to date in these negotiations is seen to be backed up by continued tangible commitments to decarbonise its economy at home. This is all the more the case, given the recent announcements on onshore wind and the future of the Green Investment Bank.”

The Aldersgate Group, which will be publishing a major report next week on the government’s climate and energy policy priorities, argues that an early decision on the extension of the Levy Control Framework and a reboot of energy efficiency policy, with clear objectives and proposals tailored to different types of energy efficiency measures, will allow businesses to continue investing and innovating in the UK, delivering important infrastructure, cost reductions and economic growth.

Uncertainty about future funding could see projects being delayed and have a particularly damaging impact on supply chains and continued cost reductions.

Nick Molho said: “The offshore wind sector provides a good example of the benefits produced by a clear policy framework. The cost of energy from UK offshore wind farms has fallen by almost 11 per cent in the past four years, with the UK the world leader in this sector. However,offshore projects can take up to ten years to build, so the industry is already looking to the mid-2020s for some clarity about expected levels of deployment.”

Nick Molho added: “The report’s dual focus on tackling and addressing the potential impacts of climate change in the UK is welcome and highlights the importance of the government setting out a coherent vision on climate change, which must include improving the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure to its impacts. This will require good co-ordination between the government’s adaptation strategy and its objective to rapidly improve the state of the UK’s natural capital such as the ecological condition of farmed countryside.”